Deadly casino attack shocks Mexicans

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Mexicans have endured plenty of horrific crimes during their country's bloody five-year war against drug gangs, but an arson attack that killed at least 52 people has set a shocking new low for many in this battle-hardened country.

The victims this time weren't cartel foot soldiers or even migrants resisting forced recruitment by gangs, as were the cases in other attacks. Instead, they were working or gambling at the Casino Royale in an affluent part of this industrial city Thursday when at least eight assailants burst into the building and set it on fire, trapping dozens inside.

As the country took in the grisly details Friday, some said a new, macabre milestone had been reached in a conflict that's claimed nearly 40,000 people since President Felipe Calderon launched his drug offensive in December, 2006.

Calderon signaled the moment's solemnity during a nationally televised speech when he called for an unprecedented three-day mourning period and labeled the attack the worst against civilians in this country's recent history.

"We are not confronting common criminals," the visibly angry president said. "We are facing true terrorists who have gone beyond all limits."

The president gave no indication, however, that he intended to back down from his confrontational policy against drug gangs. In fact, he announced he is sending more federal forces to the city of 1 million people.

Hours later, Calderon appeared in front of the burned-out casino and held a silent, minute-long vigil.

The attack even drew the condemnation of President Barack Obama, who called it "barbaric and reprehensible" in a statement.

In the streets around the casino, people said the latest violence deepened the sense of vulnerability many feel in this northern Mexican city, which once had been known as one of Mexico's safest. In recent years, however, Monterrey has been ensnared in a turf battle and is on track for record levels of violence this year.

The Casino Royale itself had been attacked twice before, including in May when gunmen strafed the outside.

Elsewhere in the city last month, a gun attack killed 20 people at a bar.

Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal told Radio Formula that of the 29 casinos in his city, 12, including Casino Royale, had violated municipal laws but were allowed to remain open after obtaining federal court injunctions.

"What happened last night was the limit," said a man nursing a Coke at a hamburger stand across from this city's morgue, where families streamed in all night to identify bodies. Like many people, he refused to give his name out of fear.

"We don't know how to protect ourselves or whom we're talking to. We don't have security right now."

The attack has made a particularly strong national impact because many of the victims belonged to a middle class so far mostly untouched by drug war carnage, said Jorge Chabat, an expert in safety and drug trafficking at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics. Mexicans have endured plenty of horrific crimes during their country's bloody five-year war against drug gangs, but an arson attack that killed at least 52 people has set a shocking new low for many in this battle-hardened country.

The victims this time weren't cartel foot soldiers or even migrants resisting forced recruitment by gangs, as were the cases in other attacks. Instead, they were working or gambling at the Casino Royale in an affluent part of this industrial city Thursday when at least eight assailants burst into the building and set it on fire, trapping dozens inside.

As the country took in the grisly details Friday, some said a new, macabre milestone had been reached in a conflict that's claimed nearly 40,000 people since Calderon launched his drug offensive in December, 2006.

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